Abergavenny Museum welcomes
exhibition of Monmouthshire born author Arthur Machen
Abergavenny
Museum is playing host to some impressive works by Welsh artists this year, all
inspired by Monmouthshire’s own Arthur Machen, best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction.
This
exhibition features artworks by Jon Langford, Pete Williams and John Selway,
created to illustrate the writings of Arthur Machen (1863-1947). Machen
drew inspiration from his native Monmouthshire, its landscape, history and
Roman remains, as well as the strange and supernatural, the weird and the
wonderful. World famous horror author Stephen King describing Machen’s The Great God Pan (1890;
1894) as “Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language”.
The
exhibition showcases both original works, as well as print reproductions of
artwork commissioned to illustrate recent reprints of Arthur Machen stories by
the Newport based publishers The Three Impostors. This includes a new
edition of one of Machen’s early works ‘The Chronicle of Clemendy’, which has
just been launched as a series of stories set in medieval Monmouthshire,
complemented by artist Jon Langford’s illustrations. There are also first
editions of Machen’s works, manuscripts, letters and photographs.
Established
ten years ago, The Three Imposter’s aim is to produce high quality,
scholarly versions of interesting, rare and out-of-print books, along with
other related new writing. Their first project was the republication of Arthur
Machen’s three volumes of autobiography, continuing to reprint some of Machen’s
novels, series of short Machen related stories, and also new and original works
by Welsh authors.
The
exhibition is now open and will run at Abergavenny Museum until December 18th
2022. It is free admission and open daily from 11am – 4pm except Wednesdays.
Work starting on ‘green’ enhancement of Castle Street car park in Abergavenny
As
part of plans to improve ‘green infrastructure’
– the term used to describe the creation of a network of natural
and semi-natural features, green spaces, rivers and lakes that intersperse and
connect villages and towns – across the county,
Monmouthshire County Council has been working on plans to create green
corridors through Abergavenny. Work will commence early April on enhancements
at Castle Street car park,
which will see the planting of additional native trees and wildflower species.
The project is designed to support connectivity with other green spaces
in the town centre.
Works are
expected to take approximately one week to complete, dependent on site
conditions. Small sections of the car-park around the planting installation
will be temporarily closed off, but Castle Street car park will still remain
open for all users. Monmouthshire County Council apologises for any potential
inconvenience during the works, and it is hoped that everyone will enjoy the
completed planting when next using the car park.
Planting will
include rowan and field maple trees in wooden planters, and native wildflower
turf on existing amenity grassland. Wildflowers such as autumn hawkbit, betony,
birdsfoot trefoil, bladder campion, cats ear, common knapweed, common sorrel,
common vetch, common toadflax, crested dogstail and sheep’s fescue
grasses, will grow in these wildflower areas. These additional native
wildflowers and trees will provide more food and habitats for birds and
insects, and benefit our pollinators such as bumblebees, honey bees and
butterflies, which are already supported by the Council’s pollinator friendly grassland
management.
The new trees
and wildflower meadows will also reduce carbon
emissions through the storage of carbon, and so help in addressing the issues
of climate change. The planting will also support ecosystem resilience,
improve water quality, and support general well-being in the town for both
residents and visitors.
Following
public consultation all respondents supported the aspiration to enhance green
corridors across Abergavenny. Ideas proposed have been incorporated where
feasible into the current proposals for Castle Street and will be taken on
board for future projects.
The MonLife Active 60 Programme was made possible with funding from Sport Wales. The programme seeks to encourage lifelong physical activity for people aged 60 plus by offering them support to become more physically active through in-person or online classes.
Members of the Active 60 programme have access to:
• Fitness Suites with a 1 to 1 tailored programme’s / programme reviews. • Designated Fitness Classes (Fit4Life, Stretch & Tone, Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Fit4Life Dance, Fit4Life Multi Sports; Fit4Life Walking Netball; Aqua; Aqua Running; Les Mills Virtual BARRE, Les Mills Virtual Body Balance, Les Mills Virtual Sh’Bam) • Casual Swimming Sessions • Health Suite & Saunas (Except Monmouth).
Members are encouraged to link their physical activity to our My Wellness App via their smart phone’s or watches. This creates an online dashboard where activity can be monitored by attending gym/class, use of virtual class and outdoor activity such as sport, walking and cycling.
The MonLife Sport Development team also aims to connect members of the programme into local community clubs such as walking hockey; bowls; touch rugby and park run. By helping to create these pathways into the community it provides a wider variety of activities for members to participate in. this in turn helps members continue their health, wellbeing and enjoyment of physical activities as part of their everyday lifestyle.
The Active 60 Programme is also open to members that complete the National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERs) to help support them into lifelong physical activity and health.
Implementation:
Fitness Suites with a 1:1 Customer Journey with tailored programme’s / programme reviews.
Designated Fitness Classes (Fit4Life, Stretch & Tone, Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Fit4Life Dance, Fit4Life Multi Sports; Fit4Life Walking Netball; Aqua; Aqua Running; Les Mills Virtual BARRE, Les Mills Virtual Body Balance, Les Mills Virtual Sh’Bam) Casual Swimming Sessions
Health Suite & Saunas (Except Monmouth).
We’re continually looking to improve the programme to encourage participation by introducing alternative activities like: Dance, Walking Netball and Multisport.
Results:
All members that join the Active 60 Programme will complete a fitness assessment on week 1 and week 8 . This is reported back to Sport Wales to highlight improvements to health and wellbeing for this age group.
Since the start of the programme in April 2021:
157 members have registered with us.
140 members have programmes on the MyWellness App.
83% have stayed for their first month of the programme.
“After the long layoff due to Long Covid it was good to get back to the gym not only for physical but also mental reasons. Being able to attend the gym is good for the head as it gives me a focus and something to look forward to. The attendance can still be interrupted by days where the energy levels are low, but the improvement is obvious to me, and the programme is now beginning to return to normal and adjustments have been made to keep the progress.”
EASTER 2023 – Spring into Easter holiday fun with MonLife
If you’ve been looking for things to do during the upcoming Easter school holidays then look no further, MonLife has the answer – a whole programme of activities and events to keep children of all ages entertained.
MonLife Heritage has hatched some plans for family fun at Old Station Tintern, Shire Hall, Monmouth and Caldicot Castle which include egg decorating Easter bonnet kits, craft activities plus much more! They have also created play-filled spaces for children to play freely, surrounded by history.
The ever-popular Monmouthshire Games (TMG) returns to all four Leisure Centres across Monmouthshire from Monday 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th April, and Wednesday 12th – Friday 14th April. It’s a chance to learn new skills, build confidence, meet new people, and most importantly, have fun through sport. Each day promises to be action packed, and booking is essential as there are 30 spaces available per day. Children and young people between the ages of five and 11 will get the chance to experience, across the sessions, over 30 different sports. Sessions run from 8am to 5pm, and it costs £21 per day. Places can be booked by clicking HERE.
MonLife Active Play programme which will be taking place across Monmouthshire is 1 hours and 55 minutes where children aged 5-11 can be left with our highly trained and experienced playworkers and choose from a range of activities to play including physical play, arts and crafts, archery or wherever their imagination takes them. Parents will need to complete a registration form to book their children to attend. Further information on venues and how to book can be found on the MonLife Holiday Activities Website link below.
Monmouth’s Play Centre at the town’s Leisure Centre will also be open, offering three-storey action-packed fun. There’s even a special enclosed toddler area. Adults can relax with a cup of tea in the café, with free wi-fi access available. Don’t forget the swimming pools, gyms and classes are open throughout the holidays (excluding Friday 7th and Monday 10th ).
Spring is officially here and Monmouthshire County
Council’s grounds team are about to start preparing the county’s open spaces
for the year ahead.
At the end of last year, the council’s team left some areas
for hibernation sites for insects, left seed heads for winter food, as well as
other wildlife-friendly considerations. Now, as we head towards summer, the
council will be following the selective mowing regime that was such a success
last year. This will start with a ‘first’ cut that will see most areas mown to
reset the grassland. After this, successive mowing will follow the Nature Isn’t
Neat principles to make space for wildlife and pollinator plants in open spaces
across Monmouthshire. This includes not mowing under trees (which will reduce
stress and disease), creating meadow spaces throughout our open spaces and road
verges. Some areas will be cut less frequently or on rotation, and some
areas will be left until late summer or early autumn to allow the grasses and
flowers to set seed.
A
spokesperson for Monmouthshire County Council said: “The feedback we received
about Nature Isn’t Neat showed overwhelming support of the approach and offered
some valuable insights on what was working well and where we can improve.
Taking account of this feedback, discussions with our operational crews and the
reduced impact of Covid on our ability to manage the work, residents will see
some changes to the mowing this year compared to the last two years and we will
continue to take feedback, and we will continue to make sure that play areas
and sports pitches are cut to the full extent.”
Nature
Isn’t Neat is an important part of the council’s response to the biodiversity
crisis and climate change. The management principles help pollinators and other
insects to thrive. This in turn supports other wildlife and improves long
term food security. The changes in management also increase the amount of
carbon drawn down into the soils and increases the ability of open spaces to
absorb water, reducing runoff, flooding and pollution and makes our environment
more resilient.
While most council owned green spaces will receive the
Nature Isn’t Neat approach, some areas are owned by housing associations and
not all of these have adopted the Nature Isn’t Neat approach, although they are
mown by the council under contract. It is hoped that more organisations will
get onboard with the selective mowing regime through the support of the
regional Nature isn’t Neat project, and help the county’s mission to improve
biodiversity and support wildlife.
If
you would like to get involved, a new Nature isn’t Neat survey will be launched
in May, Monmouthshire want to know what you think about its approach to ensure
the right balance is maintained between nature and recreation. For more
information visit: www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/nin/ and www.monlife.co.uk/outdoor/nature-isnt-neat/o.uk/outdoor/nature-isnt-neat/
or follow @MonmouthshireCC and @Natureisntneat on social media channels.
Register now to vote in May, TikTok star reminds Monmouthshire’s young people
Monmouthshire County Council’s MonLife Youth Service team
have been out in schools across Monmouthshire to promote the up-coming
elections. So far they’ve visited Caldicot and Abergavenny comprehensive
schools and plan to make their way to Monmouth and Chepstow before the Easter
holidays.
At King Henry School VIII in Abergavenny the team were
joined by Welsh TikTok Star Lewis Leigh. @Lewisleighh’s TikToks with his nan
currently have 1.6million followers – to create some short clips to encourage
young people to register to vote.
The Youth Services sessions have shown that Monmouthshire’s
young people are keen to get involved and are interested in knowing more about
the basics of the elections and the process. The Youth Services team are planning
an online session on Wednesday 13th April for young people 14-25 who
are interested in finding out more. They team will be joined by the Youth
Council to discuss topics including ‘what is a local election’, ‘how can I take
part’ and ‘where can I get information on my ward area and what members will be
standing in my area’. If you are under 18 and would like to be involved in the
discussion apply via this link https://forms.office.com/r/d7Rm49SBQ9
In this year’s elections, on 5th May, 16 and 17 year-olds will be able to take part but it’s essential that they register to vote before 14th April 2022. From the age of 14 young people can register to vote here:
Case Study: Green Infrastructure through Section 106
Objective:
Develop and / or improve community facilities and various open spaces in Monmouthshire via Section 106 funding.
Implementation:
Funding known as Section 106 (S106) can be used to develop and / or improve community facilities and various open spaces. This funding has been secured through a planning obligation request which is a deed or agreement attached to the land that is the subject of a planning permission. Contributions secured through planning obligations are used to mitigate or compensate for the negative impacts of a development. As a result, MonLife’s GI team carried out the following projects:
The Caldicot Corridor Improvements project – Aimed to create enhancements along Woodstock way and Newport road in Caldicot.
Caldicot GI enhancement project – Green Infrastructure (GI) improvements in the eastern part of Caldicot town as part of the Council’s Green Connections project, made along a selection of green route ways and in parks and amenity spaces in Caldicot which form important Active Travel routes through the town.
Caldicot Castle Country Park Pollinators project – Aimed to deliver a grassland enhancement and tree planting scheme. The project delivered a grass cutting plan to maximise wildflower meadows at the site and included ‘over-seeding’ of some areas with native wildflower seed.
The Monmouth Community Nature Spaces project – Complimented the WG Local Places for Nature funding to deliver a total of 11 significantly enhanced greenspaces. The scheme will also result in a reduction in the use of pesticides across the area. Local interest groups have been involved in the site development and are keen to undertake tree and food growing once the sites are complete.
Link Road Corridors Enhancement project (Monmouth) – Fully funded S106 project delivering species and habitat management and enhancement to compensate for loss of habitat to facilitate development nearby.
Results
The Caldicot Corridor Improvements project:
– 31 trees, 40 fruit trees, 100 bee friendly shrubs, 4 climbing plants, 1685 indigenous hedgerow plants, 8 sacks of daffodils, 20 trays of pollinator friendly bedding plants.
– 100 volunteer hours ( Keep Caldicot Tidy, Caldicot in Bloom, Keep Wales Tidy, Caldicot Castle Community Garden, Local Sustrans rangers, Caldicot Comprehensive School)
Caldicot GI enhancement project:
Caldicot Castle Country Park Pollinators project:
Caldicot Country Park Grassland Management
Caldicot Country Park tree planting
Nature flourishing in the region
Natural Fungi growing in the region
The Monmouth Community Nature Spaces project :
Figure 1: Significant tree planting has taken place across the area including at the Hendre Close open space where a tree nursery will also be located
Figure 2: Tree shrub and hedge planting has been complemented by pollinator plants and wildflower seed to deliver a more diverse space including wild play
11 sites improved for pollinators
9 sites with improved mowing practices
11 areas of pollinator planting
11 tree planting sites
9 areas of community orchard planting
3 community food growing beds
1 tree nursery
11 Improved seating areas
Link Road Corridors Enhancement project (Monmouth)
– 0.4ha grassland /scrub to maintain and enhance grassland species; supporting habitats for slow worm & dormice.
– 1.3ha woodland management supporting a variety of species of breeding birds
– Installation and monitoring of 44 dormice boxes and 2 reptile refugia.
– The scheme involved the Building Bridges group (young people with additional needs) to make dormouse boxes and undertake nut searches in the woodland.
Ladies Stronger Together was developed to encourage women to engage with fitness and wellbeing. Several studies proved that women reduced exercise much more frequently than comparison to their male counterparts. Many barriers were highlighted such as; child care, confidence, finance, times, expectations and unknown. The ladies Stronger was designed to reduce barrier by providing a low cost taster of a variety of fitness classes . Ultimately, the main objective was to create a support system for women and therefore create friendships!
Implementation:
The ladies Stronger Together program was introduced in 2018 as an 8 week block booking and has since seen a wide variety of activity classes provided to it’s members.
In 2018 the group encountered many different activities: including kettlebells, circuits, core work and tai chi. Each year since, the schemes has continues to follow an 8 week block with each week offering a different activity. Each year, our groups have seen a range of different ages and backgrounds. At the start of each program we start with some icebreakers, as everyone starts rather quiet and not all the group know each other. Therefore, the group introduces themselves and we ask the reasons for their participation. The majority of the time we saw members wanting to try fitness after not keeping active for some time. Others wanted to have a bit of time out from a busy family /work life and whilst others wished to lose weight.
After that, we discuss the layout of the sessions with the groups so they know about the different sessions they will be taking part in each week. The latest layout included:
SESSION 1: Introduction/ icebreakers
SESSION 2: Circuit Class
SESSION 3: Tai Chi
SESSION 4: Stretch and Tone
SESSION 5: Couch to 5k Introduction
SESSION 6: Box-fit
SESSION 7: Positive Mindset Session
SESSION 8: Review
The driving force behind each session is that of wellbeing. Within these sessions the topic of well-being is frequently discussed as we looked to open dialogue about how our minds react to physical exercise and the importance of taking time out in a busy day to unwind . As a results, throughout the course we ask participants to do some work with the team of life framework and were given gratitude journals to use during the week to write out what they are grateful for each day. Each session also ended on a mindful mediation to celebrate mindful Mondays.
Results:
This project has grown each year since it’s inception in 2018, with last year seeing a particularly large increase in members to the scheme:
2018/19: 15 women introduced to different fitness opportunities and create new habits.
2019/20: 17 women introduced to different fitness opportunities and create new habits.
2020/21: 45 women too part in the scheme whilst also creating a partnership with Mind Monmouthshire. This has led to many events and sign posting for members new and old.
Over this time, members have frequently given feedback relating to creating good friendships and improving both health and well being. Some have even gone on to get involved in the local park run together whilst others have became fully pledged fitness members, attending yoga and Pilates frequently.
MonLife together with Monmouthshire Council are developing a Leisure and Physical Activity Strategy which is a strategic review of the delivery of our physical activity, leisure, wellbeing and sport service provision across Monmouthshire.
It is widely recognised, that strategically directed physical activity, leisure, wellbeing, sport services and facilities can have a significant and positive impact on helping communities:
Connect
Recover and reinvent from the pandemic;
Provide positive experiences for children and young people;
Improve health & wellbeing;
Increase active environments.
This strategy will seek to help us set the future direction for MonLife Active by improving access to and developing future facilities for sport and physical activity whilst also ensuring we continue to meet our business aims of:
Enriching people’s lives through participation and activity.
Building strong communities in Monmouthshire.
The strategic review approach will follow the structure, set out below;
Stage 1 – Outcomes – Developing shared local outcomes for Monmouthshire
Stage 2 – Insight – Understand the community in Monmouthshire;
Stage 3 – Interventions – Identify how the outcomes can be delivered sustainably;
Stage 4 – Commitment – Secure investment and commitment to outcome delivery.
As part of this strategy process, it is important that we understand and consider the views of the community. We invite you to take part in a survey to help us understand the barriers that may prevent you from being physically active and how we can help overcome these.
Utilise funding to provide young children with opportunities to engage in various sports and physical activities across Monmouthshire.
Implementation:
Since January 2022, MonLife Sport Development have
co-ordinated and delivered an extensive foundation phase/TOTS provision aimed
at young children aged between 0-5 years old across the whole of Monmouthshire.
This provision has provided young children the opportunity to engage in various
sports and physical activities, many of whom were engaging in physical activity
for the first time. This project has been facilitated through a collaborative
effort of a wide range of service areas within MonLife and MCC including our
Sport Development Team, Leisure Centres, Flying Start, and our Early Years
teams. The overarching aim of this project has been to provide physical
activity opportunities for young children who due to the Covid – 19 pandemic
have had their opportunities reduced during this important stage of their
development. Below is a summary of the project with headline figures and
feedback that demonstrates the impact of the offer provided to young children
across Monmouthshire.
TMG Tots Sessions
MonLife’s four Leisure Centre’s have been providing free
accessible opportunities for children aged 3 – 5 years old to attend an 8 week
block of Multi Skills Sport sessions. Over 40 children have been engaged in the
sessions in which children have been taught fundamental movement skills through
fun and inclusive activities delivered by MonLife staff. The children attending
these sessions have been allocated spaces through Flying Start and Early Years
services we have been working closely with. Each child that has been signed up for
the session has been allocated a MonLife membership card, which in turn has
enabled parents’ access to our Clarity live program which will display the
children’s achievements. This will also provide data for flying start around
the physical competencies of the children and track their performance.
Bespoke Parent and Child Swimming Sessions
An authority wide approach has been taken to provide Parent
and Child Swimming sessions for allocated families within Monmouthshire. These
bespoke Swimming sessions have been provided for children as young as 6 months
old as an opportunity to experience the water for the first time and build
their confidence with the supervision of parents and Swimming Instructors.
These sessions across the authority have continued to demonstrate the
partnership with Flying Start and has helped support children with a barrier to
entry into our Aquatics pathways. Three of four MonLife Leisure Centre’s have
co-ordinated the delivery of a Bubbles and a Splash session, with 65 children
targeted through the provision. Abergavenny Leisure Centre will be launching
their provision over the upcoming weeks.
Flying Start Physical Activity Sessions
The Sport Development team have been delivering a series of
physical activity sessions focused on fundamental skill development and
physical literacy messages for Flying Start and Early Years settings across
Monmouthshire. The team have visited 31 Nursery settings over a 4-week period
to deliver 4 sessions of physical activity, in which sessions have been devised
to cover 4 themes: week 1 safari, week 2 Nature, week 3 seaside and week 4 farm
animals. The sessions that have been delivered encompass elements of the new
curriculum where children will be able to explore decision making, physical
movement, healthy eating and mindfulness. Through the delivery within these pre
– school settings over 500 children have had the opportunity to engage within
the sessions.
Results:
Please see a few of the testimonials we have recived as a results of this project:
“I was surprised at how well my child has managed to grasp
the concept of healthy eating at such a young age (aged). We now continue the
good work at home and discuss food options more than we ever did before” –
Parent.
“I feel like this is such a great initiative from MonLife,
the Physical Literacy sessions will help children and their parents to make
healthier choices and set the path to a healthier lifestyle” – Parent.
“These sessions have provided excitement for the children,
encouraging their confidence to develop both in and out of the sessions. These
sessions have also given the staff a variety of new ideas for physical
activities that we can implement at the setting. It also provided the children
to get out of their usual learning environment and change their routine”. –
Early Years Setting.